After a hugely successful regular season, where the Blue Devils claimed only their second-ever regular season conference title, the ACC tournament is another opportunity for Duke to reinforce its dominance over its rivals and show that the regular season was no fluke.
The top-seeded Blue Devils (16-2-1, 8-1-1 in the ACC) will host eight-seeded Virginia Tech (9-7-1, 3-5-2) at Koskinen Stadium in the quarterfinals Sunday in a rematch of Duke’s 1-0 victory Oct. 2. That game saw the Blue Devils score three second half goals to record a comeback win on senior day.
This is the first time that the ACC Tournament will be played in this format, with the top four teams hosting the quarterfinal matches, and head coach Robbie Church believes this will give the hosts a very slight, but potentially telling, advantage in such an even conference.
“It’s huge, especially in this conference, with all eight of the teams that will qualify within the top 30 in the country,” Church said. “So you’re looking for any little advantage you can get. And that’s being at home.”
Church stressed the high level of competitiveness that has been present in the ACC this season, stopping a recent trend of dominance by North Carolina. That’s why Church refuses to let his team rest on its regular season crown, as there will be no easy game in a very difficult tournament—even though Duke has not lost all year at Koskinen stadium.
“There will be no easy games,” Church said. “You’re not going to send [the hosts] on to the next round. You’re going to have to come out and play well as there’s not much to separate the top ten teams in this conference.”
The ACC’s strength could shine through when the NCAA Tournament bids are announced Monday, as N.C. State, a team that at ninth in the conference did not make the conference tournament, is in a strong position to qualify for the NCAA Tournament with a top 30 RPI ranking.
Duke is, according to Church, free of injuries to all but one player, something he describes as “unbelievable”. In addition to the physical readiness of the squad to tackle the post-season, the Blue Devils are also focused and clicking at the right time.
“The defense has been there all year, and offense has been there for most of the year,” Church said. “But the offense has been playing really well [lately]. Last week we had five goals in the ACC and surrendered one… a really good week on both sides of the ball.”
With many close games expected the team has also spent the past two weeks practicing penalties, as a shootout will determine any ties in the tournament. On Wednesday, Church even stepped up and put a penalty in the top corner himself.
The Blue Devils hope, though, that their Koskinen dominance will make Church’s display unnecessary come gametime.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.